


A new rise

by imaginesandideas



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Other, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren Spoilers, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Fix-It, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, Tatooine (Star Wars), post-TROS AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23543815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginesandideas/pseuds/imaginesandideas
Summary: You grew up hearing stories about galaxy’s heroes, far away wars, jedis, siths… But it all seemed so far away even if, in fact, it all started here. But life itself is hard enough on this planet, so why bother with something you cannot even reach?War, one after another. The one that never really ended. Not until now.
Relationships: Ben Solo & Reader, Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Reader





	A new rise

**Author's Note:**

> This is my atempt to rewrite TROS ending. An entirely different scenario, an entirely different perspective where _those who fell_ will rise again. Only different, changed. Alive but not quite.
> 
> I might continue this story. And hopefully some of you will want me to continue it too.

Winds are different on Tatooine. Even the air smells different. It’s not much dustier than the other parts of this quadrant, but it’s more... demanding. There are periods when you can’t go outside without a mask, the grains lifted off by the wind and heated by the suns cut through the air like knives. Makes it easier to recognize strangers. By the scars their faces carry.

Hostile. That’s how Tatooine treats its habitants. You have to grow here to truly accommodate to this environment.

Everyone who’s ever been here seem to notice it, so it really might be true. After all, there’s a grain of truth in every story. Just like in this one...

You grew up hearing stories about galaxy’s heroes, far away wars, jedis, siths… But it all seemed so far away even if, in fact, it all started here. But life itself is hard enough on this planet, so why bother with something you cannot even reach?

War, one after another. The one that never really ended. Not until now.

The Empire, along with the First and Final Order have finally fallen, seemingly once and for all, but nothing changes within days. Now everyone had to settle in this new reality. There were cities, villages to rebuild, people to feed, wounds to heal. There were countless citizens without a home and yet Tatooine remained as empty as ever. Nobody wanted to live here, not really. Everyone would rather escape on a bounty hunter’s ship than stay here.

Smuggling seemed like the best and only profitable way to see the galaxy, so you’ve spent the last few years wandering around, sleeping in your speeder or wherever else you could, selling galaxy’s finest jewels and valuable items. It was a demanding business, you’ve heard many stories about bounty hunters following smugglers on behalf of mercenary bosses. And everyone knows how those stories always end - either in karbonite, prison or buried somewhere in the desert, if you got lucky enough and they bothered with it. You knew better than to mess with the big fishes. Yeah, well, the past tense is here for a reason.

After the jedi have seemingly fallen kyber crystals became a very desired object, some considered it a relic even. Growing up you also had treated them as a form of sacred memoirs, something you wouldn’t dare to touch because you obviously weren’t meant to. Only the chosen ones could hold them and then, wield them as their finest weapon. Lightsabers.

You’ve seen many of them, and sold just as many. And that’s exactly what brought you here yet again.

_„I could send the message to the Resistance right now.”_

_„Oh please, your comlinks are broken, even my systems failed as soon as I got here._ ” You roll your eyes at the buyer. He’s an asshole, you’ve met him once or twice since you’d first started smuggling. You can’t blame him for wanting to sell your cover though. It’s nothing personal, but when the Resistance had finally won, everything has changed and many switched sides. „ _Besides, I’m pretty sure the Resistance has bigger things to deal with right now_.”

It’s partially true. After the war comes clean-up, and as natural as it seems it’s much more difficult. All these wars made the wick of hope burn, but now it’s almost gone, so thin that despite freedom it has provided it’s barely visible. Especially in the light of new duties the Resistance is about to face.

_„So? You’re buying it or what? I can easily find another buyer._ ” A lie, but what else could you say. You’re in desperate need of credits or literally anything that would buy you a way out of the Outer Rim. Away from this dreadful planet.

The buyer sighs.

_„You won’t find another buyer. And I’m not keen on explaining myself to the Rebellion once the dust settles. I could buy your speeder if you really want to sell something, but keep those crystals away from my hands.”_

_„The speeder stays with me.”_

_„Then there’s nothing left for us to discuss._ ” He exclaims already retreating to the back room. And so again you’re left alone with nothing. The store is empty and you have to fight the urge to steal something, as a payback. But that would grant you even more enemies, and if the guy was powerful enough, possibly even bounty hunters.

You step outside on the street and it’s almost as empty as you left it, only few local merchants and shady creatures hanging around. A pair of Twi’leks eyes you from across the street. Constant reminder than you can’t feel safe anywhere, not even on Tatooine, not with shyster eyes following your every move.

You tighten the belt on your bag, put on your headgear and wrap the scarf tight around your neck and face before getting on your speeder.

If not Bestine, then somewhere else, you mutter to yourself and start the engine. If not today then tomorrow. You’ve learned to be patient over time, even if the time itself has never favored you.

The suns set slowly over the hills. The sands appear immersed in warm shadows of daylight, so dreamy for a place like this.

Knowingly you slow down. It’s not hard to miss these tiny moments of peace when you live day to day, but for you it all feels so new. Enjoying the moment was never in your nature, you couldn’t afford it while constantly living on the run. With all the rush and noise of the galaxy this lonely serenity seems so simple, natural. And in all honesty nothing beats sunsets on Tatooine.

It’s almost completely dark when you reach your broken freighter. You hop off the speeder and reach for the bag in load carrier. With the remaining credits you were able to buy some more water and food, mainly ration packs but you know that soon enough you’ll have to start saving up. Maybe you should start already, after all there’s no telling when you’ll be able to finally escape the planet.

That’s why you were seeking buyers so desperately. Tatooine wasn’t your destination, you were leaving Geonosis in a hurry with two ships in pursuit when the systems went down. The ship was rapidly losing altitude and you were left with one option - crashing in the middle of the desert planet. You were fortunate enough to survive with just a few scratches but your ship was, and still is, completely smashed. The engines are toasted and it took you a few long days to collect parts of the ship scattered over the area.

You sigh and drag your belongings to the ship. Since you landed here you’ve managed to make it quite lively, or at least more than it was before. Stuck by desert mountains your ship has become a habitation first, ship second. For now at least before you would be able to put it back together and leave this wasteland.

Upon entering you notice smudged tracks in the sand surrounding your ship. They weren’t fresh, someone must have been spying on you around an hour ago while you were gone. You curse under your breath, you should have known better than to expect that old sheets on the windshields would do the trick and discourage strangers. Maybe you still have those ironweave panels somewhere…

Naturally you can’t help but wonder who visited your temporary home in the middle of nowhere. You’d think it was jawas, but the tracks seem too big in comparison. Tuskens? That’s more likely, but still a bit odd considering their reclusive nature. Maybe it was just the wind. Or so you hope.

In the end you decide to turn on the outboard cameras - just in case - and cover the windshields before getting some rest. Normally you sleep on a futon in your quarters. When you finally land on the rough seat you bring the bag you’ve been carrying all day with you. Carefully you reach inside the bag and place seven kyber crystals on the cloth in front of you, one next to the other. They glisten in dim light. All this trouble just for them to weigh you down.

From Dantooine, Lothal. Months, years of collecting true kyberite on various planets in various systems, purchasing them on black market, in shady alleyways, sometimes by stealing… sometimes killing. Just to get these precious stones. Just to get paid enough money to move on, ditch smuggling and start over. A new life. Preferably on Kashyyyk or Serenno.

But nothing is as easy as they promise. You were meant to collect as many as you could, verify their quality and bring them to some wealthy collector from Coruscant. And you were so close, if only the Final Order didn’t happen. But it did, and everything else ceased to matter.

Some went to fight, some escaped the horrors of inevitable war. And in the end, some survived, just as some didn’t. The economic crisis has resulted in many losing their jobs, their businesses, their source of income. Suddenly your fragile position became genuinely dangerous, you’ve lost contact with your buyers, some of them even threatened you with charges for trafficking in illegal merchandise. Normally you’d snap back but with the current events, tremendous victory of the Resistance and the perspective of banning black market items you were becoming increasingly anxious. And desperate, cause you were running out of money.

Now you’re also running out of time. On Tatooine you were able to sell almost everything you’ve had on your ship, including half of your solar panels. Unfortunately none of the crystals, though considering history of the planet it was quite reasonable.

„ _Fucking Jedi_.” you mutter while tying strings of the cloth together. You decide to put the package under your pillow for safety. Maybe the stranger decides to come back at night, who knows.


End file.
